According to Jenkins (2020), Prostitution is the practice of engaging in relatively indiscriminate sexual activity, in general with someone who is not a spouse or a friend, in exchange for immediate payment of money or other valuables.
Prostitutes may be female or male or transgender, and prostitution may entail heterosexual or homosexual activity, but historically most prostitutes have been women, and most clients are men. Prostitution has become rampant in Nigeria today among teenagers and adults. Studies of prostitution have focused largely on individuals involved in the commercial sex trade, with an emphasis on understanding the public health effect of this behavior. However, a broader understanding of how prostitution affects mental and physical health is needed.

According to Wikipedia (2020), Prostitution in Nigeria is illegal in all Northern States that practice the Islamic penal code. In Southern Nigeria, the activities of pimps or madams, underage prostitution, and the operation or ownership of brothels are penalized under sections 223, 224, and 225 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. Even though Nigerian law does not legalize commercial sex work, it is vague if such work is performed by an independent individual who operates on his or her own accord without the use of pimps or a brothel.

Why do people start prostitution?
People are involved in prostitution for various reasons, the most common being unemployment or a desire to improve their income. Prostitution can be a lucrative business but prices vary enormously. Also, no skills or qualifications are required for the job, making it a possible source of income for most people. It is also relatively easy to find work as the demand for prostitutes is great. In many cases, prostitutes can determine when and how often they work, allowing for greater flexibility in their time. The psychological effect of Prostitution on Prostitute
– Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] is characterized by anxiety, depression, insomnia, irritability, flashbacks, emotional numbing, and hyper-alertness. Symptoms are more severe and long-lasting when the stressor is of human design. PTSD is normative among prostitutes, especially women. Farley et al. (2003) found a PTSD prevalence rate of 68% among those in prostitution in nine countries. This rate was comparable to the rates of PTSD among battered women seeking shelter, rape survivors, and survivors of state-sponsored torture.
Rae a former prostitute shared her story on Dec. 8, 2016, on mumsnet.com titled “I Didn’t Think of My Prostitution as Traumatic but It Left Me with PTSD,” According to her, “It took me a long time to fully understand my symptoms; the irritability, the anger, the fear, the strange existential sense that life no longer had any purpose… Not all women in prostitution will suffer from PTSD, but many of us do; even in the most conservative findings, prostitutes are shown to be significantly more likely to suffer from PTSD than the general population. For us, it is the site of our suffering and the cause of our enfeeblement. Only by confronting that, have I begun to heal.”

– Depression as a result of a change of Identity: Pimps create a rapid emotional dependency for the prostitute by starting by changing the prostitute’s name as a means of removing her from her identity and past. Studies have then shown this could lead to bothersome symptoms and depression in the prostitute.

– Suicidal Ideation as a result of violence and social invisibility

– Low self-esteem, as a result, pronounced perception of the prostitute as an object who supplies a financial income for the pimp. A prostitute is perceived as body parts, a commodity for sexual pleasure, their feelings and emotions are irrelevant.
Self Hate as a result of the pimp breaking the prostitute’s psyche and spirit: Pimps often use psychological power and brainwashing to break the prostitute’s psyche and spirit; other means of ownership used by pimps are specific symbolic tattoos. All these acts are internalized by the prostitute, resulting in intense self-hate which may continue years after breaking away from prostitution.

Dissociation: This is a consequence of both sexual abuse endured in childhood, as well as sexual violence experienced in adult prostitution. In order to survive such exploitation and harsh violence, the woman learns to dissociate the body from the mind; she tries to protect her spiritual self from bodily scars. Subsequently, as a result of such psychological harm, these women fall victim to severe depressive disorders, and anxiety, and are continuously hyper-vigilant

COPYRIGHT RESERVED by The Institute Of Counseling In Nigeria, November 17, 2020.

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